List of favorite video game soundtracks

My favorite overall soundtrack of all time would most likely be the soundtrack from:

Shinobi 3

Every song on that game suits the stage perfectly, the tunes are so catchy they will never leave your head. The soundtrack on the last stage - first section - is one of my favorite individual soundtracks of any game, it is unbelievable. The soundtrack definitely adds to the experience of shinobi 3, it is a must play game and is my favorite platformer game.



It just becomes too difficult after that but I will say some others I consider to be awesome:

Gunstar Heroes! - This overall soundtrack is spectacular, I can't believe the game was made by a team of around 7 people (excluding special thanks).
Cadillacs and Dinosaurs - overall soundtrack is amazing, capcom goodness indeed.
Carrier Air Wing - I like the entire soundtrack, all the songs have a similar vibe to them and it works great!
Power Rangers - Ah I love the sound of snes games, so unique, this soundtrack kicks ass.
Prisoner Of War - Great soundtrack, suits the game incredibly, some songs have a prehistoric isle vibe too which is cool.
Midnight Resistance - I never get tired of the first song in the game, it sets the mood and atmosphere for the game perfectly very impressive. The rest of the soundtrack is great too, but the first track is definitely a standout.



The arcade version is great too, but I think I like the genesis more due to more emphasis on FM synthesis.

Vigilante - The whole soundtrack is great, some awesome Irem music in it.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (Arcade) - This game has an outstanding soundtrack, shouldn't be surprised though Konami does incredible things with their music.

Wow you're quite the genesis music fan. For genesis I think the awesome soundtrack for sonic 2 by dreams come true is something that can't be missed. And I agree with you on gunstar heroes the soundtrack to that game just screams "EPIC". Also streets of rage 2 has amazing music.

For nes...

MEGAMAN 2!!!!!

The entire megaman 2 score is nothing but hits.

Also a lot of music from the first duck tales especially the moon stage which I think is the best video game song ever:



Next up is Megaman 5! There's some absolutely fantastic nes music in megaman 5 that can't (and shouldn't) be missed

Also a lot of classic castlevania songs are pure awesome.

Tmnt 3 also has a couple of tracks that're quite amazing

gameboy only has one game that stood out to me and that's Castlevania II: Belmont's Revenge. This game has such impressive music a lot of people (myself included) bought the game just for the amazing music

for the arcade....hmmmm.....

mushihimesama stages 4 and 5
ketsui stage 5 is also quite outstanding

Snes....oh man there's too much amazing snes music...

I love snes music too, there are just too many to list, I might as well say the whole library!

Ah I can't believe I forgot to mention this game!!! Super Rescue Solbrain (also known as shatterhand - the US release) on the NES. One of my favorite games on the system which is way too underrated!! Check out this soundtrack, your mind will be blown.



*Edit*

Duck tales - the moon is incredible, the best FM synth type music I've ever heard. Quartet - by sega has an incredible soundtrack full of blissful Fm synth - check this out:



I am so glad you mentioned megaman 5, (+100 respect) it doesn't get enough appreciation it has such an incredible soundtrack. It is one of my favorite games of the series. I do like megaman 2's soundtracks more though because just as you said, every soundtrack is a hit.

I like Ketsui stage 5, very atmospheric music. Some parts of the music remind me of a soundtrack in x-men on the arcade.

Actually I have to thank satoshimatrix from famicom world for introducing me to the awesome music of megaman 5. Before I met him I had no clue that the game had such amazing music but he kept preaching to me about the music so I checked it out.

Yeah megaman 5 is an easy one to just miss out on. For me I first experienced NES games on a playchoice when I was younger (megaman 5 was on this, same with shatterhand and various other goodies heh), I had no idea what system the games were on at the time, but I was very impressed by the gameplay and I particularly enjoyed the music.

glenn101 wrote:

Yeah megaman 5 is an easy one to just miss out on. For me I first experienced NES games on a playchoice when I was younger (megaman 5 was on this, same with shatterhand and various other goodies heh), I had no idea what system the games were on at the time, but I was very impressed by the gameplay and I particularly enjoyed the music.

I really got to thank satoshimatrix for introducing me to a lot of great games I would have otherwise missed. And shatterhand I never played until very recently since it kept popping up in threads where people talked about underrated or overlooked games.

Here's another great track - this is from Gradius 3, the soundtrack - In The Wind. This is the arranged version by the legendary Konami Kukeiha Club. Enjoy.

Whoa this version of the gradius song's pretty awesome

Yeah, it's the best arranged version I've heard for sure.

This is so awesome this soundtrack - I haven't played the game though. This is from Castlevania the adventure rebirth (on the Wii). It's a remix of reincarnated soul from bloodlines of the genesis, it is so awesome how you can hear Konami's sounds from their arcade soundboard in there.

Huh it sounds like a remix that's still being played on genesis hardware....pretty cool

I know your mainly interested in 2D games, but this game is breathtaking to say the least. I think this is Yu Suzuki's finest work, you can see the amount of effort put into this game, it is insane. The soundtrack is absolutely phenomenal, one of the best soundtracks I've ever heard. Here is just a sample of the amazing music that Shenmue has to offer - you may have heard of it. This game you either love or loathe, but the music can't be argued about, it is incredible. The famous Yuzo Koshiro was involved with the music of this game, as were other famous composers. Here's another interesting fact about this game, which was only drawn to my attention recently, one of the lead programmers from Irem became the lead programmer of Shenmue.

Haha 2d gaming I do prefer but good music is good music. I like pretty much any genre of music except for classical and country (and I'm digging this)

Yeah I'm pretty much the same with my genre's of music. Shenmue music is definitely of the classic variety but is has an oriental vibe to it which is awesome. Here's another good one:

Yeah shenmue's like japan's perspective of classical chinese music. But I still think the best japanese music that's supposed to represent china is this song from super marioland:



I've been laughing my ass off since first hearing this song in like 1991.

An honourable mention is the italian boxer in super punchout for the snes his name is "pasta pizza"

Hahahaha! that is amusing!

Here's a cool soundtrack from Batman on the genesis.

batman games seem to generally all have good music

Yeah they do. Have you played the game The adventures of batman and robin on the sega genesis? Or heard the soundtrack? It is quite a unique soundtrack, it has an Amiga/C64 vibe to it.

glenn101 wrote:

Yeah they do. Have you played the game The adventures of batman and robin on the sega genesis? Or heard the soundtrack? It is quite a unique soundtrack, it has an Amiga/C64 vibe to it.

No I havn't. Mind posting a youtube recording from it?

Also this dude's my new hero:

All I can say is wow... my mind is blown by the epicness of that dude!!
Duck tales was amazing, but megaman 3 intro really was insane!!

Here are some tracks I personally enjoyed the most, although the whole soundtrack really is simply amazing, the composer - Jesper Kyd really makes some unique sound. They just fit the sections they play in during the game perfectly, especially the Joker theme. I love the bass he uses in his songs too, really awesome stuff.

It really is a great game too, it's one of the most recent games I picked up. Excellent co-op action, it is quite difficult too which I really like. Forces you too keep trying, progressing further each time, mastering the bosses attacks better each time. High re playability for sure. The graphics are also stunning, at one point this wrecking ball goes through a transition phase between the background and foreground attempting to simulate a 3D effect, but it is the best attempt of that I've seen.

Man that's some great music indeed. Like I said I don't think I've found a single batman game that doesn't have awesome music

I haven't found one without awesome music either heh. If you do come across this game definitely pick it up, it is quite cheap on ebay too. It's definitely a gem. One of the best co-op games on the genesis I've played.

Here's an awesome credits soundtrack - From Metal Slug 1 (2 player credits ending theme).

Gah my forum is sneaky it won't tell me when there's new posts haha. Anyway love this credit music.

Haha, sneaky indeed. I've always loved that credit music.

I just started playing Donkey Kong Country 2 the other week (I've been going through the trilogy, I've only owned the original until recently. I finished the original before and am still so amazed by the quality of that game), I was very impressed with the following soundtrack: (it reminds me a lot of aquatic ambiance, one of the best songs in Donkey Kong Country 1 in my opinion)